Photo: Craig Cutler

British chef April Bloomfield knew exactly what she wanted to bring to the American Thanksgiving table when she moved here: woodsy, aromatic sage. "We use sage all the time in England, and I loved how well it went with roasted onions from Sunday dinners with my family," she says. "In the United States, sage is not as popular, but making it the main ingredient in a pesto means I can have some in every bite."

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 cup lightly packed sage leaves

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

3 Tbsp. pine nuts

2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

1/3 cup plus 2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided

6 red onions, each cut into 6 wedges

Directions

Active time: 20 minutes
Total time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 425°. In a food processor, pulse sage, Parmigiano-Reggiano, pine nuts, 1 tsp. salt, and garlic a few times, just until roughly chopped. With the motor running, add 1/3 cup oil in a steady stream. Puree pesto until almost smooth, then set aside.

In a large bowl, mix onions with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Arrange onions in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake, stirring occasionally, until deep golden brown and very tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Transfer onions to a platter and spoon reserved pesto on top.

Adapted from 2012's A Girl and Her Pig, by April Bloomfield (Ecco).